Latest From ACLU of Washington

The latest content and updates from the ACLU of Washington website.

Published: 
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Publicola, the ever-informative local news site, has posted a report that provides new perspective on King County’s decision last December to cancel a contract to run ads on Metro buses that sharply criticize Israeli government actions.
News Release, Published: 
Monday, September 19, 2011
Major Margaret Witt reflects on her lengthy legal battle against her dismissal and the importance of the repeal of DADT. Represented by the ACLU-WA, Maj. Witt won a landmark ruling that helped pave the way for the end of the discriminatory policy. Pictured above: Major Witt (far right) deployed in Oman.
Published: 
Friday, September 16, 2011
As flu season approaches, Washingtonians should be thankful that they can still purchase the highly effective decongestant pseudoephedrine over the counter and don’t need to get a prescription (which some states now require). However, they should also be somewhat disgruntled that they must now have their personal information (name, address, amount purchased) submitted into a newly created database that will track their purchases. Since 2005, paper logs had to be maintained for pseudoephedrine sales in Washington, but there was no centrally housed electronic database.
Published: 
Friday, September 9, 2011
Washington remains the only medical marijuana state not to have a patient registry. Washington’s medical marijuana law also fails to provide patients any protection from arrest.  Law enforcement resistance to providing arrest protection has been based in part on the absence of a state-run registry. Lawmakers tried to remedy this situation in the 2011 legislative session by including a cutting edge, privacy protecting patient registry in SB 5073 (sponsored by Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, 36th District). 
Published: 
Friday, September 9, 2011
A decade ago, I had just turned ten years old.  I had heard the term “terrorism” before, but always thought it was something that only happened in other parts of the world or in the past.  On September 11th, 2001, that all changed.  That morning, I awoke to a new world, the one that has encompassed the lives of my peers and me for the past decade.
Published: 
Thursday, September 8, 2011
Ever since 9/11, the ACLU has insisted that our nation must protect both security and freedom. True patriotism means affirming a commitment to the principles of the Bill of Rights and the values of liberty that are essential to our democratic way of life.
Published: 
Friday, September 2, 2011
This past weekend, I attended the Penny Arcade Expo (PAX) in downtown Seattle.  PAX draws a huge crowd of enthusiastic gamers from around the world eager to see what their favorite video and tabletop game studios will dream up next.  But beyond the videos, costumes, and contests, PAX hosts a series of panels and presentations that provide insight into why gaming matters.  These discussions revealed fascinating connections between the gaming world and the challenges to civil liberties that we face elsewhere in life.
Published: 
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Our colleague Harvey Grossman from Illinois was in Seattle yesterday to present the ACLU’s arguments at a federal appeals court hearing seeking to hold telecoms accountable for aiding the National Security Agency in its illegal spying program.  Here’s the ACLU of Illinois press release explaining the lawsuit and why it matters. 
Published: 
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Check out the fresh-on-the-newsstand print version of the Seattle Weekly for the article about the mayor of Mt. Vernon’s anti-Spanish bias – but with the more pungent headline “Como se dice ‘bullshit’?”  And props to the Skagit Valley Herald – a great exemplar of local journalism – for breaking the story and following up on its reverberations in the community.
Published: 
Monday, August 29, 2011
Learn more about Voting Rights Restoration in Washington State

Pages